Randomness factor

I have been really neglecting the blog because of work and I apologize.  Can't keep a consistent crowd if you don't give consistent content.  With all that said, I will try my best to keep the pulse of the blog to talk about my take on the T.C.G. and the meta in the states.  With Toronto over, a lot of things were cleared up.

1. Are Wind-Ups still good?
Yes.

2. What are the cookie cutter decks right now?
None, although Wind-Ups had a strong showing the differences between each players deck was very significant.

3. How is the banlist?
It's hard to say, Wind-Ups seems to be herp derp at times being able to abuse Shock Master and Rank 5 XYZs like no other, but it is beatable.  Unforunately if you want to beat them consistently you need to be maining Maxx "C".

4. Is there ever going to be diversity in Yu-Gi-Oh!?
Well, theres always going to be diversity in YGO is just a matter of how good are the best decks compared to everything else. Jeff Jones continues to stun people with his deck building and has no doubt started a revolution for psychics.

5. Whats the best deck right now??
I would have to say Wind-Ups because they just won Y.C.S. Toronto, but its anyone's game right now.

-E

The T.C.G. Market (my small take)

With all the announcements popping up about reprints I thought it would be a good idea to point out a few things about YGO that people fail to realize. Reprints do not level out the playing significantly enough for budget players to compete at the level those with the means to get cards that make up the competitive tier. It acts as an imaginary buffer that lasts for a month or so until the new banlist comes out and restructures the competitive tier. Money runs the T.C.G. not the players. Thanks for stopping by this was a short blog that I put together so feel free to comment!

What to expect this weekend in North America Nationals

I sincerely believe that the best players are going to be playing Macro Rabbit to offset the popularity of Chaos Dragons and Inzektors. Wind-Ups and all its variants minus the Inzektor one are my sleeper pick. There will be people playing Burn and Countdown so have something prepared so you don't get caught with your pants down. I wish you all the best of luck and feel free to stop any member of the team for some small talk between rounds if we don't look busy.

News Fridays

As far as news goes, Rabbit is still dominating.  Epic Dawn comes out at the end of the month so if you or your store hasn't ordered it, tell them to pick up the phone and call or email Konami your questions. Expect the secondary market to fluctuate a little bit and see a dip on card prices across the board. Nationals is coming up so take the time to play test, plan, and schedule your trips.  This year is our year!!!!

Procrastination

I don't know why I have been so reluctant to post anything on the blog when there is so much to talk about. There hasn't been a dull moment in the past few weeks and the activity levels in the Yu-Gi-Oh world are at an all time high. Last weekend I judged in Fort Worth Dallas with David and his Epik crew and I had a pretty awesome time. Learned a lot of new things, met a lot of old and new faces, and got to travel up with some friends that I don't get to see very often. I noticed that Dragons are picking up a lot of popularity but so is Chain Burn. Many people may complain about how the meta has shaped up but I think its pretty amazing. Michael argues that its a Paper, Scissor, Rock format going into the summer and to some extent I agree but that doesn't do decks like Dark World justice. I'm getting my game on right now and picked mostly everything for Rabbit, messing around with an idea me and Justin threw around and the initial testing is very promising.  Rabbit struggles with decks that put up monsters stronger that 2500 attack so these changes alleviate some not all of the pressure. I still have a soft spot for Infernity so I'm still going to be tinkering with the build I have. Totally forgot to talk about the my regional report from two weeks ago. I dropped after round 6 when I was handed my 3 loss of the day, there's only so much you can do when you draw 2 Kabas, 2 Sabers, Mystical Space typhoon, and Pot of Avarice against Inzektors. The regional was at Gamelot and to my surprise, the showing there was very small. I had a fun time regardless and learned a lot about Rabbit with all the matchups I had all day.

Card Review

I figured I wo review a random card today.  Tardy Orc is a fun card, I not sure if this is Konami's way of mocking MTG or its player base but one thing is for sure.  This card is awful.  Is it playable?  Yes. Is it worth it? No. Don't get me wrong in the right circumstances this card can be good, but with the pace of the game right now, it can't hold up.

The Team Misplay grade:C-

Card Review

Even with its decrease in play Maxx "C" is still a game changer.  All the tier 1 decks out there special summon, some more than others but whatever the case they do.  Even if in some situations the card is a one for one at best against the match it is terrible in one for one is beter than nothing.  Not to mention how good it is against all the decks that special summon quite frequently like Dino Rabbit Leviair plays, Wind-ups, and Inzektors.  The card will see a lot more play when Hieratics are released so don't get rid of them just yet!!!!

The Team Misplay grade:A-

So...

So a lot of things are going to be changing in my schedule soon, so I will try my best to keep posting consistently. This weekend I went to San Antonio for regionals and went X-3 after round 7 so I dropped because my goal was to top 8 and my build disappointed me.  Details will come during the week.

E

Expansion on the Previous Post

This is not E for once, its actually Michael and seeing what E had to say I'm just going to expand on that concept of understanding the meta appropriately in meta-heavy tournaments (i.e. Regionals, YCS', or even highly competitive locals).

A great place to start is to find someone you're well acquainted with who runs the deck you have questions about, and ask them to explain it to you from the person playing the deck's perspective so that you can be better equipped to play against it when you see it elsewhere. This is easier if you have a "team" as they have been dubbed and I will be breaking down that concept in an entry on our tumblr page within the next few days.

The next step is maybe building the deck based on a popular build or maybe a build that topped the most recent major event as it will be net decked pretty thoroughly as players will take out a card here and there in favor of another here and there as tech for the meta they expect to experience. I'm not saying go out and buy all the cards, but proxies work fine for test-play amongst friends. And if you can get your friend or someone you know to play your deck against this meta deck you will pilot it can help you to see the strengths of the meta deck and weaknesses of your own deck. Sometimes these weaknesses can't be fixed in the main deck, but a well constructed sideboard can help you turn these weaknesses into strengths within the match-up. This is especially a problem with the way the meta is shaping up. Dino Rabbit, Wind-Ups, and Dark Worlds punish you for leaving too many cards in your hand as you will either not have the necessary negation on field when you need it, lose them to the grave one by one as they loop you, or have your opponent picking and choosing problem cards and taking them from your hand. Against these decks field committing with protection is a good idea. Against Inzektors this is the worst thing you can do. Once they get the combo rolling its pretty much over and you field committing makes it much easier for them to make +1's at every turn. If you don't know what you're playing its tough to know what to do turn one sometimes, and this can cost you, so here's some things I suggest.

1) Play effect veiler in the mainboard!!!!

- If you're asking why its because its still good, and with torrential at 2 it actually got better.
- Example Scenario that I playing 2 Effect Veiler and 2 Forbidden Chalice as well as 2 Torrential run into somewhat frequently. They have Laggia up with materials you say? That's fine. They summon monster, I don't care what activate torrential, if they don't stop it with a spell/trap but rather Laggia's effect you chain veiler and now the laggia trying to negate can not as the chian resolves backwards and Torrential destroys everything. They could chain a lance on top of your Veiler but then they have a 1600 ATK Laggia that may be immune this turn, but next turn its pretty much a vanilla in a deck that already runs too many anyway, so all is good. Seems pretty boss to me, you know just saying. Veiler works very well against Barkion or a Shi-En as well. Not so much against Beast as most times your spells are on your turn instead of theirs.
- People say it sucks against Rabbit, you're wrong. Tour Guide is the win condition of the deck unless they draw double rabbit before they draw 3 vanillas to ruin the possibility of double rabbit without Avarice. Veiler their tour guide and what do you have? A 1000 ATK VANILLA MONSTER! Make their monsters vanillas. The deck plays a pretty good game of protect the vanilla, or Evolzar, and you need to make them burn up those cards when they don't want to to put yourself in a position to win.
- He also ruins the Wind-Up loop when used properly (When Zenmaity Special Summons is the proper time in my opinion as they are now stuck with a simple 1500 ATK monster as lance will not save them, and a Book of Moon will still allow the loop but a smaller version that pulls one less card from your hand.
- Veiler also punishes bad Inzektor players. This deck is extremely hot right now due to its consistency and relatively low price. Its very annoying but knowing your rulings here helps. When they say effect to equip an inzektor to dragon fly (Hornet) don't negate with veiler, just say ok. Then as they bring it down from their hand say the dreaded words inzektor players do not want to hear. "At resolution I use effect veiler." The only thing holding the equip on is the inzektor who no longer can hold it on, so it falls off and neither effect of the inzektors acritvates. Veiler is usually a -1, but in the prior situation regarding using it at resolution, you actually make them lose a card as well as their normal summon due to your veiler if you already have monster presence that can trump their likely tiny monster at 1000 or 1600.

2) Be able to remove cards from the game
- Players don't realize how crucial this is. No current metagame strategy deals with RFG cards very well unless they were banished by their own effects. Yes Shining can add some back, but what about if you take them out of the grave so they never get to make their shining? Its an important thing to think about when you are working on your strategy in both your main and side deck.
- Even in match-ups you think its not great in its better than you think it is. Lets take Rabbit. Seems awful right? Wrong. When they avarice use D.D. Crow on one of their targets probably an exceed monster as it can not be re-summoned by a leviair, and they don't get to recycle their monsters the way they want to. It also goes about negating monster reborn, and I guess that's a good card to negate also.
-Another ruling for the Inzektor matchups. They say effect and you chain DD Crow to that 1 hornet in the grave. If they don't have another inzektor in grave they have to equip something due to the way the cards are worded. If they have any inzektor in hand they have to equip it, if they don't they must show you their hand to prove so and everyone likes knowing whats in your opponents hand.

3) Play Compulsory Evacuation Device
- Its the new Book of Moon for extra deck cards. It gets rid of answers at no cost and very consistently. It kills the shining and zenmaines, without effect. Its a good call for the metagame. Even use it on a dinosaur after a rabbit summon and watch the other one have to pop itself at the end of the turn.


The whole gist here is to be smart and thorough in your preparation and assess the major strengths and weaknesses of the meta and how can lessen their strengths and breakdown their bad matchups. There's a site out there that has a phrase I don't really care for as it gives the game a bad connotation so I'm going to coin my own because I can and that's what I want to do.

Play Smart and Have Fun.

Do the first every time and make sure you still enjoy the game. If you've stopped enjoying the game, step back and make sure you are still playing for the right reasons. Don't get me wrong I love winning and the competitive part of the game, but its important to still enjoy it too so that you don't find yourself fading away as time wears on, but instead growing a deeper bond with the game we all love to play. Don't ever miss an opportunity to learn something new either. Its important to learn the cards that the metagame will try and win with and use against you, and know how best to fight them.

Until next time, play smart and remember to still have fun,

Michael

Misconception

So with all the crazy shenanigans going on in the meta I thought I take a moment and address an issue that affects players transitioning into competitive play. This is something my friend Al brought to my attention and I figured I should shed some light on this lingering phenomenon. Whenever you prepare and playtest for events there is misconception that because you "think you know" how the top decks run that you are aptly prepared for them when you face them. Consequently, you end up losing 9 times out of 10 because you weren't prepared. Playtesting shouldn't be taken lightly when you go into a meta heavy tournament. Being prepared and understand what functions in your deck and what doesn't is the process that allows you sidedeck accordingly and ultimately become the victor of the match. Until you fully understand that, you will never ever be ready to take the next step so keep that in mind when you enter your next premier event. As always thanks for stopping by this is E signing off.

News Friday

Whats up guys, I apologize for the unexpected hiatus. We're back now with news that you will enjoy.  As you may all know this past weekend was Y.C.S. Dallas and Toulouse. I had the privilege to judge at Dallas and witness the meta first hand. When I say organizing these events is a lot of work, I am not joking.  Players don't realize the time and energy that goes into making the venues run smoothly. Julia and company go above and beyond to get the best qualified judges and staff to get things going so whenever you go to a Y.C.S. and have a chance to thank anyone that the head judge and Julia for being awesome! Back to our coverage. Nizar Sarhan won out in Dallas for the second time piloting Dino Rabbit while Peter Gross won out in Toulouse with Chaos Dragons. As you would imagine the meta has been all over the place, Inzektors come in as the majority but can't swarm to the finish line to the likes of Rabbit and Dragons.  Dark Worlds could of been more pertinent but they're numbers were to small to begin with so they did not make a significant impact at the venue. Overall the venue was pretty amazing. There are things that could of been handled differently to minimize cheating, rule sharking, and other things harmful to the game state. Whether players agree to it or not the staff is held to a very high standard and because of that players should be held to that standard as well. Think of all the things that are wrong with the T.C.G. and holding the players accountable with stricter rules and punishments could alleviate those problems. Anyway, that's just my take. Thanks for stopping by and as always its not a proplay unless its a misplay.

E

Selfless promotion!!

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We're back!

By the end of the week I plan to report everything that happened at Y.C.S. Dallas plus recaps and thoughts on the state of the meta.  Stay tuned!!!

E

YCS Dallas

So this was something I mean to post before going to Dallas, oh well I guess. A lot of this has to do with how I feel one should prepare for a big event like this and how you some of your decision making processes go. The mainr eason I wanted to post it was for predictions and I really regret not doing it. I almost nailed the top 4, just one deck off, nailed the winner, and nailed the final round. If you watched our video on our Youtube channel, the first thing I said was to watch out for Lightsworn engine in different decks as that deck gives Dino Rabbit fits, and it almost finished the job but fell just short in game 3. Don't look for this deck to pick up a lot of steam, I see it going the way of Dragunity. Dragunity was really solid upon release and did well at a couple of regionals and YCS', but once the playstyle was learned by most players and people pinpointed major weaknesses, the deck fell by the wayside.

This next part will be what I had typed out and saved in a Word document last Monday morning, I just forgot to post it is all.

 So this blog is going to be all about YCS Long Beach and YCS Dallas and the effect the former is going to have on the latter. 

What we saw at Long Beach was by all means an anomaly, but in a 4300 player tournament it’s the perfect environment for rogue decks to slip through the cracks and make it to the top, and that’s exactly what we all saw. If you aren’t aware of the results, Piper Chaos and Hero Beat-Skill Drain made top 4 and ended up in the tie for 3^rd, with Dino Rabbit coming in 2^nd, and Dark Worlds taking home the trophy. All of these are decks most duelists have some good experience against, except for Piper Chaos that is. That reason, that most duelists had limited experience against it, was a major factor in how it finished out at Long Beach as players didn’t know what to expect from the deck when playing against it, or if they were equipped to side against it, they may not have known how best to go about it. When preparing for Dallas these results are important to notice, as they will have a great impact on the field in Dallas, but don’t get too carried away preparing for them, there weren’t any new broken combos introduced that are just downright lethal. The only deck packing a new punch is Inzektors and they didn’t break the top 4, so they clearly can be tamed.

Next point I need to make. Don’t just go changing your deck at the last minute! Be prepared and create the skeleton of your deck you want to play. Find the cards that absolutely have to be in there and the ones that don’t and work towards making that final build. Don’t just switch from Lightsworn to Hero Beat at the last minute or something similar. You likely won’t have the experience needed to be able to pilot that deck properly, and even if you have the best build possible a misplay can lose you a game and possibly a match. Also to be noted, the play styles of different decks can cause you trouble if you’re used to playing one way such as with Lightsworn and the aggro style it uses and then last minute switching to a control based deck like the aforementioned Hero Beat. Decide what deck you are going to play way ahead of time. Test it against as much of the meta you can find, and also some rogue decks to see if it can adapt properly to nonconventional matchups. Don’t get discouraged when your deck gets beat by an opponent who draws the nuts, its Yugioh that happens sometimes, and its why you play 2 out of 3 with a side deck. You will most likely play more games with a side deck than without one, as in the worst possible scenario you would play exactly the same with and without, so make sure your side deck gives you the advantage you need against those bad game 1 matchups. 

You need to know how you will side against the meta you expect to see. A lot factors into this. Are you going first or second in the upcoming game makes a big difference. If you’re going second against wind-ups, you better bring the hand traps in, but if you’re going first don’t worry about those hand traps as much, as you will have a turn to put a set-up down to stop their shenanigans. er HHHHDon’t side more than a couple of cards per matchup. The most I would say is acceptable is 6 in a regular deck for 1 particular matchup as any more will change the flow of your deck too much. There is the idea of transformational siding and that’s okay at times, but if you are doing well in a tournament word will spread about what you’re doing, and your element of surprise will be ripped from you. 

Now I’m going to peer into my crystal ball and project some results. First place will be Dino Rabbit finally breaking out and winning in the US, a feat they have yet to accomplish. You will either see Inzektors or Dark Worlds in the top 4, but probably only one or the other not both. Look for Wind-Ups to do about the same as they did in Long Beach cracking the top 16 but not getting any further. The deck is good, but the player count is down for that deck. They will benefit from the trend of decreased hand trap usage, but Dino Rabbit is still going to play 2-3 Maxx C and that will be enough to keep them out of contention. Look for another rogue deck to crack the top 4, and probably fall victim to Dino Rabbit in the final matchup. Something like a chaos build could have great matchups all day long, as well as Six Samurai or maybe even X-Sabers as they have seen increased play since March ban list. So to summarize:

·         Rabbit takes first over a rogue deck in the final match.

·         Either Dark Worlds or Inzektors will break the top 4 but won’t be able to finish it out.

·         Look for Wind-Ups to be a presence but not that big as the deck is too linear to win.

      So I almost got it, but regardless get ready for Galactic Overlord and all that has to offer the game, and until next time happy dueling.

      Michael

News Fridays

The Galactic Overlord Sneak Peek kicks off April 29. I'm really excited for the new card releases especially Card Card D! Hieratics make their debut too so be ready to pick all that up.  Y.C.S. Dallas is next week and I have been given the privilege to judge at the venue. Updates will ensue, as of yet Justin is planning on playing so keep a look out for him. Hope to see you all there!

Card Review

Fiendish Chain

So I hear you're having trouble with Inzektors? No problem Fiendish Chain is here to help! Oh its Wind-Ups now? Again no problem, Fiendish Chain will put them in there place. You want to stop an attack for that one more turn, fret not Fiendish will do that too. Almost no situation is too much for this card to handle so keep a look out for it or wait for the reprint.

The Team Misplay grade: B-

The importance of Mystical Space Typhoon

So there is an ongoing debate about this card, not really I'm just kidding, but people don't see that this card being unlimited has a very important impact on the game. Monsters at this point have built in effects that are inherently a plus 1.  The only thing stopping you from gaining that advantage are your opponents backrows.  With Heavy storm floating around your opponent usually won't commit more than 3 backrows unless they can protect them.  End phase Mystical on an opponent's sole backrow is also very commanding when you have the set up and card economy to push. Don't underestimate the potential of this card with all the decks running around that are negation based. Mystical space typhoon forces thought so keep that in mind when you blindly activate it.

Tournament Report 4/1/12

Void Ogre Dragon wins games!! With its release I wanted to showcase my Infernity build. The deck has picked up some very crucial potency with this card, no joke.  I am going to keep my build a secret until I play at a Y.C.S. BUT I will give you the details of my duels.  Any deck that has dark tuners gained a considerable boost with this card so experiment with it. Anyway here was my Saturday at Legacy.

Round 1:

Lightsworn - OO

Game 1

I won the dice roll and opened up with Infernity Launcher, Dark Grepher, Necromancer, Infernity Barrier, Archfiend, and Infernity Break. I Summoned Grepher pitched Necro to send Beetle to grave.  I then activated Launcher and discarded Archfiend and set my Barrier and Break. I sent Launcher to grave to special Necro and Archfiend searched for Barrier via Archfiend and then set it. Used Necro to special Beetle then sent Beetle to grave to bring out 2 more. Synched into Gaia Knight with Grepher and Beetle then went into Void with Gaia and a Beetle and passed.  My opponent draws and activates Solar Recharge pitching  Jain to which I negate with Void Orge. I locked him down from that point.

Game 2

Opened up Laucher again with a somewhat decent hand.  I go into Void and pass.  He activates cards to bait my effect and fall victim to his Dark Hole.  At that point he had dwindled his resouces to the bare minimum and had two Judgement Dragons in the grave.  His field at this point was Card Trooper, Aurkus, 2 fluff tokens via Dandylion, and Wulf. I don't remember what his backrow was maybe 1 or 2 cards. I topdeck the Archfiend and proceed to regain my advantage. I searched for Mirage and summoned it.  I then used its effect to special Necro and another Archfiend.  I search for a Barrier via Archfiend and set it.  I then use Necro to bring back Beetle from grave and synch into Mist Wurm to bounce the 2 tokens and Card Trooper. I proceed to use Break to pop a backrow he was sitting on since the start of the duel and removed my Mirage. It was a Monster Reborn. I activate my set Zero-Max to special Necro and then special Archfiend again via Necro. At this point he had milled 2 Judgement Dragons.  He summons Card Trooper and mills sending his last Judgement to grave and conceeds.

Round 2:

*Secret* - OO

Game 1

Wong the dice roll and opened Stygian Street Patrol + Dark Grepher + Archfiend + 2 Barrier + 1 Break.  Yep.

Game 2

My field by turn two was 2 Beetle, Necro, Arcfiend, Barrier, Mystical.  I synch into Hyper Librarian and then Brionac.  I have no hand when I top the Archfiend via Hyper Librarian to search Launcher.  I set up into Void with Zero-Max destroying my Necro in the process because I had to bring back Beetle.  Slowly poke for game.

Round 3:

Heroes piloted by Al(a.k.a. Beast mode, he doesn't know I call him that lol) - OXO

Game 1

Void Ogre plus protection versus Heroes equals game.

Game 2

He just destroys me, I can't keep him from summoning Thunder King and Aliuses.

Game 3

I'm just sitting on monsters waiting for an opportunity to push.  He has 2 back rows, Thunder King, and the Shining.  He attacks my facedown Snowman with a Thunder King and I pop his Shining.  He adds Stratos back to hand via effect.  I end phase Break a facedown and remove Mirage.  One of his backrows was a Fiendish Chain which he chained onto my Necro so I draw a Beetle I summon it. I stupidly tried to use Necros effect for some reason while it had been Fiendish Chained lol.  I overlay to exceed Necro and Snowman to bring out Leviair to reuse Mirage.  I can't search so I just synch into Gaia and wait for a response.  He was low on lp so he didn't want to tribute and let me attack for game. I didn't try to push because I didn't want to lose my field to Torrential so I attack with Gaia and he books it. So now he has just a faceup Thunder King and dead Fiendish.  I end phase Break his Thunder King and remove a Break.  He sets and passes. I draw, set, and flip Gaia.  I use Necro to Bring out Void and he concedes.

Good friend of mine, I enjoy playing against him at tournaments!!!! XD

Round 4:

Inzektors piloted by Luis - XX 

Game 1

Passive cards get destroyed by Dragonfly and Hornet. :(

Game 2

I draw alright.  I set up and pass. He Mysticals my Phoenix Wind Blast which was the only discard outlet I had to help with my heavy monster hand and consequently do not recover. I get murdered by Dragonfly and Hornet.

Another good friend of mine, I hate my Inzektor match up but oh well need to find better side cards for them even if they are losing popularity.

Thoughts:

Good turn out. I'm glad the player base in Laredo is growing. Good playtesting.

Update

So I'm trying to finalize a schedule that will keep me motivated and excited about the blog. I enjoy talking about strategy so it seemed like the logical thing to do.

Sundays
Tournament report if I entered in one during the week.  I will randomly post things about rulings and outlooks if they are relevant or to my liking.

Mondays
Weekend recap of Regionals, Y.C.S., and/or Worlds.  Otherwise I will give strategy advise.

Tuesdays
I will randomly give a deck analysis and/or add decklist(s) on the tab bar.

Wednesdays
News and updates if there are any to my liking.  I will try to consistently give card reviews.

Thursdays
Nothing

Fridays
News Fridays will resume.

Saturday
Nothing

Hope you enjoy!!!!


Also, check out all the Yu-Gi-Oh blogs in the community and help them out by clicking on their ads. It goes a long way for them and it shows that you do care about our content.

Story time(well the short version of it)

Like I mentioned before, Justin went to Y.C.S. Long Beach to do his thing.  When he got there he was recruited by our good friend J.D. DeKeyzer to help judge the venue. He judged the event and didn't get overturned on any rulings which is pretty damn good if you ask me and managed to keep things as organized as possible with all the chaos going on in Long Beach. He was only needed for one day and didn't get to participate in much else. He met with a lot of people and enjoyed his experience there. I want April 13th to be here already!!! I want to judge a Y.C.S. too! Anyway overall the experience was there and I'm glad both J.D. and him had a good experience.

News Friday

Justin is on his way to Y.C.S. Long Beach! Wish him luck! Updates will follow.

Card Review

Maxx "C"

The shift in the game has been quite significant for this card to have regained the popularity it has over the past few months. Special summoning has always been part of the game but the frequency to which it occurs is pretty astonishing. Whatever the case, Maxx "C" in a lot of ways keeps the game state in check. It forces the opponent to weigh risk versus reward.

The Team Misplay grade: B+

News and Updates

So as you may already know, a lot of things are happening in Yu-Gi-Oh.  The Premium Collection tin was released yesterday and with it comes The Shining reprint and many more cards that will add some twists to  a lot of decks. We also have new products announcements with Starter Deck: Xyz Symphony, Structure Deck: Samurai Warlords, and Gold Series 2012: Haunted Mine. Six Sams will be made more accessible for the masses, Fiendish Chain is getting a reprint, and Konami is introducing a new type of Gold rare card.  In team news, Justin will be attending Y.C.S. Long Beach this weekend. We are all really excited to meet our viewer base so if you're in the area don't be afraid to say what's up!

New schedule

I'm going to make changes and incorporate some new ideas to the blog. So stay tuned!

So my feelings about the format

From the looks of it the format is going to be controlled by Dino Rabbit, Inzektors, and Wind-Ups. The consistency of each deck is overwhelming.  Each deck controls the game state differently and fits the play style of the wielder. In my opinion, Dino Rabbit is probably the best and subduing either of the matches better than the others because of Laggia and Dolkka. I'm a bit annoyed I need to drop Infernities until Chain and Dragoon come out to keep up with the meta. Will showcase my next project in the weeks to come.  As always, this is E from the Team Misplay signing off.

Tournament Report 3/4/12

I wanted to give Prisma Lives Glads a chance and showcase my build for the format.

Round 1:

Got a bye lol

Round 2:

Blackwings - OXO

Game 1

My backrows overpowered my opponent.

Game 2

He had the answer to everthing!! Blizzard plays for days!!

News Fridays

Slow week, nothing I'd like to report.

Moving forward...

Let's take a moment to reflect.  We've seen the Konami do a lot of things for the game, both good and bad. We've seen the evolution of Yu-Gi-Oh many times. First with the introduction of Fusion monsters, then Synchro monsters, and now Exceed monsters. Soon Battle Packs will be released to promote a new aspect to the game as well as the introduction to Galactic Overlord.  The banlist phased out Plants, T.G.s, Agents, and all their variants to make room for Inzektors, Dino Rabbit, and Wind-Ups. It is time to adapt and take charge by looking forward and preparing for whats to come.


p.s.

We now have a Tumblr account, http://www.tumblr.com/blog/teammisplay! It will be used for anything and everything Yu-Gi-Oh related by the team! The regular blog schedule will continue.

News Fridays

R.I.P Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier. We had a good run.

Phases

Calling out phases in games is a great tool to use to get reads on your opponents and reduce your margin of error significantly. Your opponent, believe it our not, responds to interaction. By naming phases, you condition your opponent to associate each phase with a reaction that will divulge information about the game state. Understanding the phase interactions plays an important role in your perception development and bring your game to the next level.

Just play

For those of you that did not know, 16-year-old Georgia native Marquis Henderson BEASTED, literally, on all the competition with T.G. Stun this past weekend in Y.C.S. Atlanta. Henderson main decked Skill Drain and Beast King supported by Horn of the Phantom Beast. He effectively used his floaters, Tengu, Rush Rhino,etc., to thin out his deck and win without Maxx "C"s or Effect Veilers in a dominant Rabbit, Wind-up, and Inzektor tournament. After a rough start Henderson proved once and for all that the META doesn't dictate the outcome, the PLAYER does. Congratulations Marquis Henderson!

Credit for all information goes to Konami.

Tournament Report 2/18/12

I hadn't played in a tournaments since January and decided to play this week to show the crowd that judges are good players too.  The Laredo meta is what you would expect anywhere else with good competition.  I couldn't decide whether to run Prisma Lives Glads or Infernities.  I flipped an imaginary coin and went with the latter because I got a Leviair. I saw a kid without a deck that wanted to play so I lent him my GB deck.

Round 1:

X-Sabers - OO

Game 1

Opened Trap Dustshoot.

Game 2

Opened Trap Dustshoot again.

Round 2:

Chaos Dragons - OO

Game 1

Infernity Launcher + Monster Reborn = Game.

Game 2

Zero-Max + Necromancer  + Archfiend + Beetle = Trishula.

News Fridays

News
Really getting tired of all the fake banlists that keep popping up every time a new list is about to get introduced. Check out this fake one, http://sunetto.blog100.fc2.com/blog-entry-1677.html. It's so annoying to see posts and posts of useless speculation and bickering about how all the decks are broken and how Konami needs to fix it to make the game more "balanced" for everyone, and I'm over here thinking, umm no, sorry that's just not how it works. Konami will do whatever they want to the game and I can't think of a better example than the unbanning of Black Luster Solider - Envoy of the Beginning. The only thing remotely important during these times is the fluctuation in the secondary market, just look at eBay and you'll see.  Come on Fiendish Chain is going for 20+ dollars right now, really!?! Moving on, Ra Yellow Mega-Packs comes out next week and I'm having mixed feelings about it. Sure it has a lot of good things in it but I don't see it selling well past the banlist and the release of the Order of Chaos SE not to mention buzz around Galactic Overlord with the new archetypes and support.

Regional recap
I'm a little late on my regional recap cap and my judging experience in San Antonio from the past weekend but better late than never. So 1st place was T.G. Agents, not really surprised, it's all about matchups and T.G. Agents have amazing matchups against the meta! At the regional the top cut was really diverse Wind-Ups, Inzektors, Wind-Up/Inzektors, Dark Worlds, Dino Rabbit, and Agents. I would like clarify that Shi-En and Naturia Beast DO NOT NEGATE the equip of Hornet to an Inzektor because the equip becuse of a monster effect! Not much else to report than the usual attempts at rule sharking and cheating. People need to be patient and give opponents enough time to respond to anything and everything otherwise you are cheating and we don't like cheating! Many people from my hometown and some friends from central Texas topped. It was a really good day to see old friends while judging. Hope to see more come March!

Wind-Ups, Wind-Ups

The Engine and Card summaries:

Rat

Hunter

Shark

Zenmaity

Hunter can tribute a Wind-Up but itself once per turn to discard a card the opponent's hand.

Rat can special 1 Wind-Up monster in the grave once per turn.

Shark can special summon itself when a Wind-Up is normal or special summoned. Can increase or decrease a monster's level by 1 until the end phase.

Zenmaity can detach a material to special a Wind-Up from your deck or hand. It can remove a material to keep itself from being destroyed.

Concept:

Discard your opponents hand as fast as possible and attack! Exceed accordingly and keep advantage!

Counter:

Maxx "C" and Effect Veiler can and will stop them in there tracks. Having stronger monsters will turn the tide if they don't have an answer to it.

Thoughts:

The loop and field presence of the deck is undeniable. If taken lightly, the deck will destroy you! I think Inzektors are still a better archetype.


Honorable mentions:
Wind-Up Rabbit
Wind-Up Zenmaines
Wind-Up Factory
Disclaimer: All images will be updated as they come, credit for images goes to Wikia

News Fridays

Konami Europe posted the Hidden Arsenal 5 Special Edition information on their site, Six Sams won Y.C.S. Guadalajara this past weekend, The Dragons Collides structure deck came out this week, and the Team Misplay will be in San Antonio for regionals on the 11th.

Card tech talk part 1 (pre-March)

Going against the grain is never an easy task when the decks that are running rampant are Inzektors and Wind-Ups! You need cards that will stop them in they're tracks and keep you alive for that turn. There are many viable options to work with but Effect Veiler is the stand out!  Even with its drawbacks Veiler says NAH UH no effect to they're Centipede, Dragonfly, Hunter, Rat, and Zenmaity!  No loop, no win.

Trust me I'm a doctor!

Weekend Wrap-up

For those of you that didn't know, Sack Sams, a.k.a Six Samurai, took Y.C.S. Guadalajara in Mexico. Proving time and time again that Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En and Naturia Beast backed by Fiendish Chain and Musakani Magatama win games! Seriously ban these cards! I will finish up the wrap-up when more information is made available, for now I'll leave you this quote every player should live by.  Decks don't make the player, the player makes the deck! Congratulations Oscar Zavala, http://www.konami.com/yugioh/blog/?p=7809!

I'm just TOO GOOD!

Side note, this year's U.S. Nationals will be in Columbus, Ohio!

News Fridays

I learned my lesson last year about the secondary market while DREV Pot of Dualities were valued at $120 and have begun to trust Konami in what seems is an attempt to stabilize the market. I am amazed with the idea of Battle Packs and the reprints Konami confirmed. In short,  Battle Packs are similar to Magic: The Gathering sealed drafts and to be perfectly honest I think it's a great idea! It will bring in a different crowd of players and could even get old players back into the mix. We'll see how this will progress but I'm giving it two thumbs up! Next week, on February 11th Team Misplay will be going to Heroes & Fantasies in San Antonio, Texas for regionals.  I am hoping to judge under head judge, Ontario Durgan.  The rest of the team will be going to play, trade, sell, and buy.  Hope to see you there!!!!

Reprints!

The importance of shuffling

In today's segment, we will be going through the basics of shuffling. In events and tournaments that drag on forever shuffling can get very tedious.  Some even make it a habit to just tap, not shuffle, their opponents' deck and without realizing it you invite cheating, intentional or not. Shuffling is the act of randomizing a deck and/or hand to prevent alterations to the game state. Anytime you search through your deck you must shuffle unless specified. The same goes for card(s) that are returned to deck(s).  While shuffling you are not allowed to look or arrange cards. It's easy to remember by touch where cards are during shuffling. It is you and your opponent's responsibility to shuffle and/or cut each other's deck to put equal footing between each other to prevent all levels of cheating.

If not I'll draw this on you all day!!! :p

The mighty will always fall!

We are approaching the March banlist. There is a lot going on in the game with Inzektors and Wind-Ups popping up everywhere now. So before we continue getting bombarded with more useless banlist predictions remember that Konami doesn't care! We can go on forever with our wishful thinking but at the end of the day they will ban and un-ban whatever they want, that's for sure. And with each banlist an era ends and another begins. Decks will fall and others will rise. Will you be ready?

News Fridays

Konami hasn't stirred up much of anything past the reprint confirmation of Elemental HERO The Shinning and Yu-Gi-Oh! Extravaganza in New Orleans, LA tomorrow. As of now, the team's reach extends through central and south-west Texas thanks to Clockwork Games and Events and Legacy Comics.  Our mission right now is to promote Yu-Gi-Oh! in our stores.  Tomorrow is going to be the first locals Laredo's held a while and hope for a good turn out.

Dino Rabbit

The Engine

Step 1: Get Rabbit
   

Step 2: Search 2 Dinosaur Vanillas with different names and exceed into
or

If you have a banished Rabbit or a desirable level 4 or lower monster follow the next steps

Step 1: Get Tour Guide     ---->     Step 2:  Search your level 3 fiend target and exceed into   
              

Card summaries:
Rabbit specials two level 4 or lower Normal monsters from your deck to the field, Rabbit cannot be special summoned from the deck.

Laggia negates anything that activates or summoned.

Dolkka negates monster effects that activate.

Tour guide specials any level 3 fiend from your deck to the field, the monster summoned cannot be used as synchro material.

Leviair detaches a material to special a level 4 or lower monster from the banished zone to the field.

Concept:

Make Laggia and/or Dolkka with Rabbit and recycle Rabbit with Leviair and make another Laggia and/or Dolkka and win with the crazy advantage you built up.

Counter:

You need to disrupt the generic combo of exceeding into Laggia and Dolkka. Black Horn of Heaven, Thunder King Rai-Oh, Bottomless Trap Hole, Fiendish Chain, and other effect and summon stoppers will do work against the match up. Main decking a Maxx "C" will scare off your opponent from special summoning so much. Hoping that they draw normal monsters all day helps too. :D

Thoughts:
The deck is simple. Runs a lot like Six Samurai when they had Shi En at 3. If they manage to recycle Rabbit you will most probably lose.

Disclaimer: All images should be be credited to Wikia

Dear secondary market

Sorry for posting this a week late.  Order of Chaos is out and I decided to go through ebay and see what everything in the set is going for and I am still shocked by what I found! Centipedes going for $3, Dragonfly $3, Hornet $20. Don't get me started with the Ninja cards! The prices are not as ridiculous as I thought they would be considering that the pricing is based on hype. I'm seeing a lot of veteran players, more than usual, taking advantage of the new players. Konami needs to hit the secondary market hard and reprint anything worth more than $25 to avoid this all together. The community can be really rough; Yu-Gi-Oh players have a notorious reputation of being trouble makers, cheaters, thiefs, and a lot more things. Until Konami steps in we won't be able to weed out these people.

Side note: I'm plan to add a segment on Saturday or Sunday that will recap my matches of the day/week. I got the idea from the blogger community and wanted to give it a shot in our blog. I finally got a locals up and running in Laredo and we even have a Yu-Gi-Oh page! If you're in the area check it out.

Super side note: Today are the NFL AFC and NFC Championships! Go New England Patriots!!!!

News Fridays

Prices are all over the place for cards in the new set, and this is all based off hype! And most of the cards everyone wants are just supers and ultras! Justin and JD went to an eventful regionals in San Antonio, a lot of players had issues with the store owner because he is somewhat of a prick. I am going to start running regionals in my hometown and get a feel for the crowd here.  Hopefully we get a good turn out. Phil is partying it up in College Station running Yu-Gi-Oh. All in all the week has been normal, nothing crazy to report.

Quick update!!

Sorry I have not been able to post anything new this week, I've been trying to organize Yu-Gi-Oh in my hometown and its been pretty hectic! For those of you in the Laredo/Valley area in Texas, Legacy Comics & Collectibles has given me the green light to run unsanctioned tournaments at their store to get the crowd going. We don't have Order of Chaos yet, but we do have Generation Force and Photon Shockwave. I will be running the tournaments weekly on Saturday at 2:00 p.m., so tell everyone you know! If you have any questions about this please e-mail me at 99misplays@gmail.com or eliud_vasquez@hotmail.com. I will still vending with my team so if there are cards you are looking for or selling, send me a list and we'll give you a price on cards we have in stock.

I will use Friday to post up our thoughts about the new set too!

News Fridays

Pretty sure everyone is aware that Effect Veiler and Winged Dragon Ra are being reprinted as supers in the Order of Chaos SE.  The secondary market value of Veiler could drop anywhere from 5 to 10 dollars on all rarities based on condition.  A few people may be upset about the reprint, but me not so much.  I appreciate that Konami, whether conscious or not, reprinted Veiler because it gives casual players the ability to bridge the gap between card pulls or competitive players.  Effect Veiler may not be as potent as Maxx "C" or Herald of Orange, but timing Veiler correctly can be game breaking.  Moving on, tomorrow is the first run of Sneak Peeks and needless to say, I'm excited to see what the team pulls because I am nowhere near any of he Yu-Gi-Oh scenes back home. I still haven't confirmed whether or not Justin is going to San Antonio to judge, but updates will come whenever available.

Picking up on the subtleties (part 2)

In today's segment, I will be addressing the learning curve in Yu-Gi-Oh for side decking.  It is important to analyze your deck's card lineup and its interactions with one another.  Maximizing the synergy in the main and the side deck should be as equal as possible going into games 2 and 3.  Siding into cards that ruin the synergy no matter how good it is for the match-up will slow down your deck ability to combat certain match-ups.  Siding into Thunder King Rai-Oh in a deck that revolves around search is a perfect example.  It is really hard to change the complete makeup of a deck when you are limited too a 15 card side to address the whole meta so avoiding cards that disrupt the synergy of deck will go a long way.

Moving on, the idea of siding is simple, you side out cards that may have a negative or no impact on the match-up for cards that will have a positive impact.  I identified 6 different ways to side:

Side decking - Generic siding, take out and put in cards that will put you in the best position to win, some people use the opportunity to side into a completely different deck to catch opponents off guard.  Not many decks can pull this off but when they do the rewards could be well worth the the risks.  Also playing mind games with your opponent and making obvious assumptions out loud could shaken and/or deter your opponent mentally when they side; they could be make a mistake or a bad judgment call that you could capitalize on.  A strong presence is invaluable games 2 and 3, especially when the players are equally skilled.

Ghost siding - Credit to my friend Nathan for revolutionizing the way I side.  As the name suggests, ghost side decking is siding in mystery.  When you do this, nothing should be what it seems.  You want to make it blatantly obvious how many cards you are siding without revealing what they are and side a fraction or none of the cards you revealed without alerting your opponent.  The pressure it provides on your opponent is absolute and will increase proportional to what game it is.  In their mind, they will be trying to side and counter side against your ghost side.  More often than not, will cause them to over-side and commit to more than they needed too; committing to much will be the demise of most decks because of the lack of synergy in the deck.  This also gives you a little leeway to side and make the appropriate judgment calls.  Ghost siding is all about mind games and secrecy is key.  You may have sided 0, maybe 3, or 15, your opponent will never know.

No siding - Not siding has its benefits in favorable match-ups and avoids disrupting your deck's synergy.  More oftern than not Yu-Gi-Oh is luck based so siding or not are ways to combat that luck.  In good match-ups you can deliberately not side and use the time to observe your opponent side.  You should always do this but more so when you do not side.  Being aware of what and how your opponent sides will help you have the in game adjustments to fend off his/her side.  Of course there is the down side that your opponent might have the card lock you down, but if you know/feel that you could take the risk going into the next game then why not do it.

Counter-Siding - Games 2 and 3 can be full of surprises and mind games.  Sometimes in mirror matches, the one that sides the best will win.  The victor is determined by anticipating what the opponent is siding and the answers his/her side has for them.  Take for example Six Samurai, side decking is crucial!  Kinetic soldiers, Snowman eaters, Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo, monster hate, backrow hate, etc. will dictate the pace of the game.  The appropriate counter measures will almost always win you the game(s).

Over side - This is absolutely the worse way to side unless your deck auto-loses to the match-up you are facing.  I don't like doing this because of its implications and the side-effects to your deck's synergy, but sometimes siding 15 cards can put you in a position to win.

Unsiding - Depending on the game, some cards are better when you go first or second because they are proactive or reactive and/or helpful or useless.  Siding out cards you sided in can dictate the tempo if you made the right reads.

Side decking can be an effective tool in winning games and should not be overlooked.  You will learn through experience how to handle every situation and what cards to side against the meta.  If you have other ways to side leave them in the comment section below and as always this is E from The Team Misplay signing off.

Dissecting Inzektors

The Engine:

Centipede

Dragonfly

Hornet

Card summaries:

Dragonfly specials any Inzektor except itself when an equip leaves the field

Centipede searches any Inzektor except itself when an equip leaves the field

Hornet destroys any card on the field when it sent as an equip to the grave

Concept:

Issues: 

The deck can not go off if it does not have Hornet in hand or grave.  To compensate many builds run Armageddon Knight and Foolish Burial to maximize Inzektor plays.

Counter:  

If you have any way of stopping the effect that equips in the initial games, do so.  The wording on the cards makes it so that timing is not missed if the effects are allowed to resolve.  In games two and three graveyard removal, negating summons, and effect of Inzektors while maintaining a high level of aggressive play will go a long way in defeating the deck; Inzektors function best when the opponent plays passively.

Thoughts:

Inzektors when released are going to compete with all the tier 1 decks, slowly but surely. The question remains though, will they survive the banlist? And are you ready? 

Honorary Mentions:

Inzektor Giga-Mantis

Disclaimer: All images will be updated as they come, credit for images goes to Wikia

Ninjas...

The Engine:

Ninjitsu Art

Upstart Golden Ninja

Hanzo 

Card Summaries:

Hanzo is a floater with two different effects when normal, flip, and special summoned. The most common card the this card will search is Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation which when properly utilized is game breaking.

Upstart lets you special summon any ninja level 4 or lower from your deck by discarding a trap.

Ninjitsu Art of Super-Transformation is Ninjitsu Art of Transformation on steroids that sends your opponents monster to the grave and a face-up ninja you have monster to special any 1 Dragon, Dinosaur, or Sea Serpent type monster that is less than or equal to the combined levels.

Concept:

Step 1. Normal Summon Hanzo search and set Ninjitsu Art-->Step 2. Activate Ninjitsu Art and target 1 face-up Ninja and 1 face-up monster your opponent controls and send to grave to to make target monster-->Step 3. Exceed whenever possible.
Else.--> Use Upstart exceed into a rank 4.

Ninjitsu Art opens up options that didn't exist, speed, search-ability, and play-ability. It's limitations are your imagination. As of now, the most popular builds in the O.C.G. revolve around exceeding into but not limited to Evolzar Laggia and Evolzar Dolkka for obvious reasons. Rescue Rabbit is in the build to consistency while Jurrac Guaiba and other Normal Dinosaurs are targets for Ninjitsu Art.

Counter:
Your best bet is stopping Hanzo searches and siding into monster and backrow hate.

Thoughts:
This archetype is just a fun deck. It's lack of consistency is this deck's undoing, but give them too much space and they will make you pay with Ninjitsu Art.

Honorable mentions:

Aqua Armor Ninja
Masked Ninja Ebisu
Earth Armor Ninja
White Dragon Ninja
Armor Ninjitsu Art of Freezing
Ninjitsu Art of Duplication

Disclaimer:All images will be updated as they come, credit for images goes to Wikia